The new logo, which depicts an origami style map of Australia in bold red tones, and a door framing South Australia, was finally revealed Wednesday night in a projection against Adelaide's Festival Theatre.

The need for a state brand was reportedly spurred by Jay Weatherill's first overseas trip as Premier, where he faced confusion around South Australia's location and personality.

"What we've found is that when we do travel and we speak to people about South Australia they say 'well that's a great story but we just don't know anything about you, we don't know where you are'."

Costing around $1.3 million to develop, Mr Weatherill said this stylised image that framed SA removed any doubt about the state's location.

"Everybody recognises the shape and form of Australia, and now this puts us right in the middle of the continent."

He said the doorway symbol aimed to portray SA as a welcoming state, open to new ideas and creative culture.

Following huge hype and expectations leading up to the brand announcement, the public's response has been clearly divided.

Reactions shared on ABC Adelaide radio ranged from 'it's beautiful, I love it, do it', to 'I think it's a bit of a joke, all it is is a map of Australia with a couple of lines through it, it doesn't represent anything in my eyes'.

Online, social media networks also offered endless opposing comments about the new brand.

A quickly established 'Rebrand SA again' Facebook page posted humorous variations on the brand, including Jim Morrison of the Doors band inside the brand's door, or the origami logo replacing Pope Benedict's papal hat.

But founder of a Washington DC based marketing and branding company, Paul Williams, said it didn't matter if people disliked the new brand, it just mattered they were talking about it.

"The fact people have opinions mean it's good, if no one had any opinions it would be boring and no one would care, so I think people have a like or hate for it means it's making an impact."

While many people have agreed the new brand effectively located South Australia, they have criticised the origami-like shape as saying little else about the state.

Mr Williams said it took time for a brand to develop meaning.

"I heard some people commenting that the icon doesn't mean anything, and right now it doesn't because it's brand new.

"If you think about the Nike swoosh on the Nike sneaker, that's a meaningless symbol, but it became known for something, and then than became the brand so that is what will happen with South Australia over time."

Mr Weatherill said the new brand was designed to be used across both public and private sectors, plastered on anything from beer cartons to footy club signs.

Not only did he spruik the brand as free, but also flexible, with businesses, organisations and groups invited to tweak the design to suit their needs.

Design and architecture lecturer Dr Sam Spur said no other state has created a memorable brand, and questioned whether it was fair to expect South Australia's could have any more impact.

"No one knows what the other states brands are, we can't remember what they are, so part of it is, are we expecting too much?

"I don't know if this will put South Australia on the map as an icon that internationally they will say 'South Australia it's a gateway', however I think it will work in terms of that flexibility on a whole lot of levels."